Technology
RSSAlaska tech: startups, consumer tech, AI applications, space launches (Pacific Spaceport Kodiak), research computing, data platforms
NuCube, Alaska Fund launch NuAlaska nuclear initiative
NuCube Energy and Alaska Fund launched NuAlaska to develop nuclear microreactors for remote Alaska communities where fuel costs and weather make power expensive.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
The AI money came first. The data center moratorium came Thursday.
Days after AI money turned up in his filings, Kreiss-Tomkins called for a data center moratorium — one a governor has no power to directly impose.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readAI
Akiachak could gain hardwired broadband under an airport permit, with comments due Sept. 10
Alaska is leasing Akiachak Airport land to Calista Corporation to build a broadband shelter, part of a fiber project expected to reach the village by end of 2026.
by Walter AlaskaNews1d ago1 min readAI
The Air Force wants to put AI data centers on Alaska military land — and the three sites tell three very different stories
Three Alaska military bases are auditioning to host the AI boom — JBER can't power it, Eielson is leaking PFAS at it, and Clear has 4,769 acres, a DDT drum dump, and all the groundwater you can drink.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min readAI
Can a bacterium pull rare earths out of coal waste? Alaska researchers just got $4.7M to find out
Can a microbe mine coal waste for rare earths? Alaska researchers got $4.7M to find out — chasing a domestic source for minerals the U.S. mostly imports.
by Melinda Communities.News1w ago2 min readAI
Senate bill co-led by Murkowski targets AI chatbot toys' risks to children
AI toys can be sold with no testing of what their chatbots tell kids — and testing found some explaining where to find pills and matches. A bipartisan Senate bill, co-led by Murkowski, targets that gap.
by Alaska News1w ago2 min readAI
Alaska schools could face a choice between internet and teachers if a federal subsidy is cut
A federal review could cut E-Rate, the subsidy that sent $203.5M to Alaska schools and libraries last year — and school boards warn it's internet or teachers.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
A UAF mathematician is building better tools for understanding networks
A UAF mathematician won a $150,000 NSF grant to build better tools for understanding complex networks, from how they're structured to faster ways to solve problems on them.
by Melinda Communities.News1w ago1 min readAI
North Slope phone co-op moves to keep its Deadhorse airport site
The North Slope's phone co-op wants five more years for its tower and shop on Deadhorse Airport land, a no-bid extension of an existing $14,250-a-year lease.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
Alaska won up to $160M to hunt critical minerals with AI and microbes
UAF will lead a new NSF innovation engine — up to $160M over 10 years — using AI and microbes to find Alaska's critical minerals. SCIENCE!!
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska Positioned as Prime Location for AI Data Center Growth
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min readAI
DNR offers 50-year North Slope lease for gas-powered data center
Alaska DNR offered a 50-year lease to STAK Energy for a massive data center on the North Slope that would use natural gas to power 1 to 3 gigawatts of computing, with public comments due June 15.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min readAI
For Alaska's rural broadband, federal permits are the bottleneck
Alaska has over $1B to build rural broadband. In a state 60% federal land, industry says the real holdup isn't money — it's getting permits to build.
by Melinda Communities.News2w ago2 min readAI
NSF awards UAF $1.77 million to build AI geohazard forecasting tools
UAF got $1.77 million to build AI software that merges earthquake sensors, satellite imagery, and weather data into a single landslide forecast system, testing it across Alaska through 2032.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min readAI
Starlink claims 10 Gbps in Utqiagvik, but maybe... not so much
Starlink says it hit 10 Gbps in Utqiagvik — but that's the firehose into town, not what reaches your house. A rooftop dish still gets about 200 Mbps.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min readAI
Begich votes to prohibit separate credit-card codes for gun stores
Begich helped pass a bill barring card networks from tagging gun-store purchases with a firearms-only code. In gun-heavy Alaska, that's a lot of receipts.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
The Army Just Ran a Shark Tank in Alaska — and a Soldier's Enemy-Sniffing Drone Won
The Army ran a Shark Tank in Alaska, and a soldier's drone that narcs on the enemy's radios took the prize. Losing pitches still "win," per the general.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min readAI
A Democratic group brings AI-analyzed canvassing to Alaska's Senate race
Democrats are using AI to analyze canvassers' notes and guide outreach in Alaska's Senate race — an approach privacy advocates warn can profile voters without consent.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Calista seeks airport land at Kwethluk, Napakiak to bring hardwired broadband
Calista Corporation wants to build broadband shelters on airport land in Kwethluk and Napakiak to bring hardwired internet to both villages.
by Alaska News3w ago1 min readAI
Why an Arctic fiber company needs 30,000 yards of Dalton gravel
Quintillion wants 30,000 yards of Dalton Highway gravel to build a land backup for the Arctic's only fiber line — the one sea ice has cut twice, knocking whole communities offline.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
AI is becoming Alaska's front page. It only knows the Alaska that's online.
The first AI answer most Alaskans see now appears inside an ordinary Google search, above the links. It summarizes what the web already covers well. For much of Alaska, the web covers almost nothing.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago4 min readAI
The grant that keeps rural Alaska's libraries online is open again
In much of Alaska, the library is how you get online. The state's grant to cover those internet bills is open to every eligible library — no contest required.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska manufacturers have 11 days to enter state's top award
The Made in Alaska program has opened nominations for its 2025 Manufacturer of the Year award with a May 29, 2026 deadline, offering winners a custom bowl, state publicity, and Alaska Manufacturing Association membership.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min readAI
Small Alaska telecom warns FCC 'land rush' favors big carriers
OTZ Telephone Cooperative warned the FCC that a first-to-file rule for Alaska broadband funding favors large carriers over small rural providers, creating a race to submit applications that smaller companies cannot win fairly.
by Alaska Newsadded 2mo ago3 min readAI
Matanuska Electric offers free EV chargers to local businesses, but hosts pay install costs
MEA is giving away EV chargers to Mat-Su hosts — but only the box is free; the host pays to install it, and the co-op pockets three years of charging data.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Senator's Mother Scammed: Personal Loss Drives Crypto Kiosk Bill
Alaska passed SB 249 unanimously to regulate cryptocurrency kiosks after Senator Tilton's mother was scammed. The bill requires fraud warnings, licensing, transaction limits, fee caps, and refunds for proven fraud victims.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska school boards to FCC: don't make us choose internet over teachers
Alaska's school boards warned the FCC that gutting the E-Rate internet subsidy would force districts to choose between paying the broadband bill and paying teachers.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min readAI
Seven village schools could lose internet June 30 over a federal funding dispute
Seven Alaska village schools could lose internet June 30. Federal rules say pick the cheapest. The cheapest doesn't work out there.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska Legislature Staff Debate AI Use for Official Records
Legislative staff discussed concerns about unauthorized AI use for meeting minutes and public data scraping, while working to incorporate AI tools into official planning without compromising accuracy standards.
by Alaska News3mo ago2 min readAI
Cordova carrier tells FCC spectrum hoarding blocks rural broadband
Cordova Wireless told the FCC that major carriers are sitting on unused spectrum licenses over the town and won't lease them, blocking the local provider from meeting federal broadband speed standards.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min readAI
GCI to end landline long-distance service in six Southeast communities
GCI will discontinue landline long-distance service in six Southeast communities on or after August 1, 2026, citing rising facility costs, pending FCC approval.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min readAICordova Wireless challenges FCC broadband maps, says waterways and islands missing
Cordova Wireless told the FCC on May 22 that federal broadband funding maps exclude coastal waterways and islands where Alaskans work and travel, potentially cutting off support for over-water cell service residents depend on for safety.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min readAIYukon Premier Warns of Near-Blackouts, Scales Back Electric Vehicle Push
Yukon nearly faced blackouts during extreme cold, forcing premier to drop EV mandates and subsidies to ease grid strain. • Territory will add 15 megawatts of diesel or LNG this summer, then 45 more over five years. • Isolated 150-megawatt grid relies on three aging dams and cannot tap neighboring regions for power. • Electrification paused as near-term priority until capacity expands.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Mat-Su Job Center Offers Free Digital Literacy Help Twice Weekly
The Alaska Literacy Program is providing free, no-appointment drop-in computer skills tutoring twice weekly at the Mat-Su Job Center to help job seekers gain digital literacy skills.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min readAIRobots are fighting Alaska wildfires near Nenana right now — on their own
Near Nenana, robots are autonomously fighting fire for an $11M prize — tested on tame controlled burns while the real Interior fire season rages a short flight away.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min readAI
Fairbanks Borough mails 2026 property assessment notices
The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assessing Department sent annual property assessment notices to all property owners at the end of January, showing current and previous year values that may increase based on neighborhood sales prices.
by Alaska Newsadded 3mo ago1 min readAI
Homer Electric wins state OK for undersea fiber across Kachemak Bay
Alaska approved Homer Electric's plan to convert its undersea power cable corridor across Kachemak Bay into a permanent public fiber optic easement, clearing the way for broadband to reach three roadless communities on the bay's south side.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min readAI
Alaska House passes bill aimed at software vendor lock-in
Alaska House passed a bill 26-13 to stop software vendors from forcing state and local governments into specific cloud platforms or locking them into expensive contracts.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI52 Alaska districts join safety consortium using federal grant model
Hydaburg City School District is leading 52 Alaska school districts in a safety consortium based on a federal grant program proven on Prince of Wales Island, with participants receiving customized safety handbooks through a working symposium.
by Alaska News3mo ago1 min readAIUnalaska council retroactively approves a three-year-old library internet contract
Unalaska City Council approved a five-year internet contract for the public library at $108,876 yearly, with federal E-Rate funding covering about half the cost.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 22h ago1 min readAI
